Excavation machines or excavators are well-known in the art and have been used for decades in a wide variety of applications to dig up or extract material, typically earthen material, from a work site. While excavators come in a wide range of sizes and configurations, most involve a cab or house that is mounted to an undercarriage having a plurality of tracks or wheels provided thereon. A bucket or dipper is mounted to the cab via an articulated arm assembly that typically comprises a boom member and a stick member. The boom member is mounted to the cab and the stick member is mounted to the end of the boom. Actuators, such as hydraulic actuators, operatively associated with the cab, boom, stick, and bucket allow the various elements to be moved with respect to one another to pull the bucket through the material to be excavated and thereafter deposit the excavated material contained in the bucket at a suitable location (e.g., into the bed of a haul truck).